


A Different Joker

by Cythieus



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Interrogation, No Sex, No Smut, no relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 01:56:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11933904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cythieus/pseuds/Cythieus
Summary: A reimagining of the interrogation scene with a female Joker. This is more of a test than anything. Alternate Universe, obviously. This Joker character might appear somewhere else.





	A Different Joker

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't really meant to be the start of something, but I might use this version of female! Joker somewhere else. I really love the idea of female Joker.

Muffled voices and darkness. The sound of footfalls on the floor are sharp jabs of pressure in her head—she’s sore all over though to the point that any discomfort from that bleeds into the overall white-noise sensation of pain. Everything is murky—where is she now? What’s happened to the others.

A rush of ice cold water engulfs her and she springs back in the chair, dark tendrils of hair cling against the side of her face as she struggles to free her hands. They’re cuffed behind the chair and she rubs her thumb against her index finger. Skin to skin contact; either they’ve removed her gloves or they removed themselves because she’s not in the Metaverse.

It can be hard to tell the other world from the real one when you’re not in a palace.

She took in her surroundings: a dark four walled room with a table pulled up in front of her. Paneled walls with no windows or exits besides a door and an air vent off to her left. Three men in suits loom over her with grim expressions. Best not to play into them too hard—it’s crucial to see what they know.

“No dozing off,” says the man with hair like the wedged front end of a large boat that’s headed right for you.

That’s how she felt—like a swimmer treading water in front of huge ship with only a split second to make the right choice. She tested her bonds one more time, shaking side to side to try and muster up any strength. Her whole body ached with exhaustion, but if this was the Metaverse—if her powers had just worn off maybe she could call to them. Maybe she could make one last push.

“You still don’t get it,” wedge head said turning to look at the man nearest to his side. He thumbed at his chin in thought or intimidation and then reared back and kicked her in the stomach sending her careening to the floor. The impact knocked the wind out of her and when she opened her eyes she could see needles littering the floor.

What had they given her? It could explain the dreamlike feeling. It could explain why she didn’t feel her power there if this was the Metaverse.

The man caught her by the hair and she let out a sharp shriek. “Come on, cooperate! You want another shot?” He threw his hand back as if to present the discarded needles to her. She glanced past what he wanted her to see, up at the red light on the camera that stood next to the door. Surely, someone was seeing this. Someone would come soon.

Even Phantom Thieves had rights.

“Right now you’re looking at the camera.” He caught her under the chin and brought her and the chair back up until it was resting on the floor. “You’re thinking ‘this could be used as video evidence,’ huh?”

When she speaks her voice is almost unfamiliar to her, there’s a raspy quality to her words. Was that there before? “Huh, what do you mean?”

“You don’t get it, girlie, there are no laws here that protect criminals like you!” He tugged her hair so that her head tilted slightly to the side and he was speaking right into her ear. Then he punched her hard in the stomach.

She hacked and coughed as he made his way across the room and began to speak, his tone suggesting that he was reading, but she was too dazed to see. “Possession of weapons, blackmail, obstruction of justice, defamation…manslaughter too, talk about the works.”

He turned back and she could see he was holding a clipboard as her vision cleared. “To think that all those crimes were committed by a bitch like you. And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it.”

_I’m pretty sure I was enjoying it. Though, everything’s hazy._

“You should know your place,” said wedge-cut and he motioned with a jerk of the neck to the man furthest away in the corner. A tan-skinned man stepped out of the shadows and pulled her up by the arms, unlocking her cuffs and pushing her to the floor so that she crashed against the paneled wall with a hollow thud.

The first man was squatting down in front of her now, his face closer to hers again. He held up a clipboard. “This is a confession. All I need from you is that you sign your name here.” She reached up and slapped the clip board away, her eyes locked on his the entire time. He glanced at the other men in the room. “You need your hand to sign this, but the other parts: a pretty little ear…an eye…a leg.” He stomped down on her leg just above the knee causing her to writhe against the pain. “I don’t care if you lose any of them.”

When he presented her with the clipboard this time she plucked the pen off the top and signed her name.

Akiko Umeko.

Akiko pushed the clipboard back with a slight grunt.

Wedge head accepted it and looked it over nodding. “Don’t expect to walk out of here in one piece. We’re going to make you understand that one must take full responsibility for her actions.”

Time passes in a blur. Whatever they’ve given her works its magic and though there’s risk of being beaten again, Akiko dozes off in the chair with her hands resting on the table. The door opens and she’s not sure how many hours or minutes or seconds she’s been sleep. A tall silver haired woman with a purse slung over her arm stands in the room. She surveys Akiko trying to place where they’ve met.

This woman’s seen you from afar or even close up, though she ignored you as you wore and apron and brought her more coffee or cleaned dishes behind as the TV droned on in the corner. “I didn’t expect it to be you,” she says as she takes a seat, though by her tone she knew exactly who it was going to be.

“You’ll be answering my questions this time, though I have to warn you,” she said glancing around. “Anything can happen down here and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

Akiko remains silent.

The woman glances at the needles strewn about. “Bastards…” she said leaning forward and snapping. “Can you hear me? It seems you’ve been through a lot,” there’s pity in her voice. “I need you to answer me honestly and I don’t have much time, okay?”

The barrage of questions began: “What was your objective and why did you cause such a major incident? I didn’t think any of this was a prank from the get go, but I couldn’t’ assemble a case for prosecution with the evidence we did have. Which was next to nothing. And I couldn’t figure out your methods.”

Akiko let out a short, cynical laugh. “Of course, you couldn’t. Who’d have believed you?”

“This isn’t an issue of whether or not any of this can be used in court anymore. This is my case and I have a right to know,” she said.

Akiko couldn’t be sure, but she felt that this woman, Sae…Makoto’s sister, wasn’t in charge of anything anymore. She wasn’t here to build a case or to see justice done. She was here to understand. And to some end Akiko understood her. The system had fucked them both over. The world wasn’t designed see strong women or teenagers stand up to it and succeed—it was a matter of just hoping any part of you was still able to keep fighting when it smacked you down.

And right now they were both smacked down and disgraced. Akiko had become very good at reading people.

“It seems your coherent,” Sae said. “When and where did you find out about ‘that world’? How is it even possible to steal another’s ‘heart’?” Sae paused. “Now, tell me your account of everything…start from the very beginning.”


End file.
